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Lessons of Dynasty Part 2: Interlude Years	By : JohnDoe Category: +A through F > Exalted RPG Views: 277 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Chapter List
- 5
- 6
With the extra credit earned from their trip to the Versino, the girls easily pass their Wood term. By using the kangi demon blood they harvested, they have more than enough practical work to get the credits needed for the Fire term, and a workload that seemed impossible at the start of the year is, by the Earth term, not easy but routine. As the school year draws to a close, all four of them have earned enough credits to graduate The Hall of the Jade Cauldron – and Hari even manages to pass Shogunate History, for a passing grade at The Hall of Terrestrial Puissance. With two libraries down, they’re half-way to early graduation.

No alchemical elixir or esoteric experimentation has been able to awaken Reya’s dorm-mates to sorcery. They pack their things and return to the Hall of Terrestrial Puissance, where they meet with the other incoming third years. In many cases, they have not seen their fellow classmates for practically the whole year. Tepet Gerat, Mnemon Padar, and (most gallingly for Udi) Ledaal Evede, have all managed to initiate into sorcery: over a third of the class. (Evede, further, seems to have summoned an entourage of elemental servants, who wait upon her hand-and-foot.) No more of their fellows have died, and none have yet flunked out or been asked to leave – even Ferem Solu, who books in hand seems intent on studying until the very second the moon disappears from the sky (and the school’s prohibition of studying during Calibration comes into effect).

****

“I know you hate him, but let’s hear what he has to say.”

Padar leans casually against a wall, as he chats with Reya. The pair are alone in a quiet nook outside of the main hall. They are discussing Tepet Gerat, who has invited them both to meet in an unused classroom, away from the festivities.

Reya wrinkles her nose, “And does Kinesi know you want to meet with Gerat?”

Padar folds his arms across his chest, “Kinesi is my closest friend, but he’s not my owner. I don’t need his permission to meet with anyone. I thought you were a leader – do you want to ask someone for permission to meet Gerat?”

“I don’t need permission,” Reya huffs indignantly, “I just don’t want to. At best Tepets are arrogant show-offs who think they run the Realm: and Tepet Gerat is the worst example of that.”

Padar nods considering, “Nearly as good as me at sports. Nearly as good as you at academics. I can see why he makes you feel threatened.”

Reya folds her arms across her chest and glares at Padar.

Padar grins and shrugs, “They’re the most powerful House in the Realm. Don’t pout: they are. They have the military might of Cathak and First Age connections that put our House to shame. We gave them a lot of shit in the first year, but the Empress isn’t going to magically strike House Tepet from the rolls: it benefits the House if we can forge alliances here. Lay the ground-work for marriage even.”

“I’d rather die than marry into House Tepet!” Reya stamps her foot petulantly.

Padar raises an eyebrow, “Who said I was talking about you? I’ve seen Gerat naked… I could do worse.”

Reya guffaws, “Alright, fine. I’ll hear what he has to say.”

****

Reya and Padar are the last to arrive in the small classroom: Gerat and Evede are waiting for them. Gerat stiffens noticeably at the sight of Padar, but the Mnemon boy gives him a warm smile, and he warily relaxes a fraction.

“Thank you all for coming,” Gerat says, rising to his feet and positioning himself at the front of the class, as if giving a lecture. Padar and Reya sit by Evede, “Whilst the four of us have had… interpersonal disagreements, first and foremost, the Heptagram is a school. A school of sorcery. And we four… are sorcerers.”

He pauses dramatically and Reya takes the opportunity to clap sarcastically, “Brilliant observation, Gerat!”

Gerat swallows, knocked off his stride he continues uncertainly, “The four of us should study together. We’re some of the best students. We’re here to make alliances and political connections: I know I’d like to have contacts I can count on in Houses Mnemon and Ledaal.”

Reya scoffs and shakes her head.

Padar steps in, “I can see the value in that. I spent the last
year studying with Kinesi and Riven, and Riven’s a genius but I need to be studying magic. And, frankly, I’d like to have a contact in House Tepet.” He gives Gerat a nod, “The four of us can help each other,” He looks pointedly to Reya at his side, “And next year, when our friends have… caught up with us, we can look at changing our study groups.”

Gerat looks to Evede, “Are you in?”

Evede shrugs, “I am applying to The Hall of Verdigris. If that’s where you’re going, I’m happy to study with you.”

Gerat nods slowly, “Straight to the big guns. Well, Danireya and I have the grades for it… Padar?”

Padar shrugs, “I’ve got some… family contacts who could probably smooth that over for me. Four newly minted sorcerers studying demonology together? This is the stuff dreams are made of.” He grins at Gerat who smiles back uncertainly before turning his gaze to Reya.

“Absolutely not,” She says flatly, “Enjoy yourselves. I’m out.” She stands to leave

Padar clears his throat, “Will you excuse us, one moment. One moment.” He follows Reya out of the room, “Reya, wait up. Come on, you see how perfect this is?”

“I have a study group, Pads.” Reya says, “It includes the best and second best student in our year. I don’t see why I should give that up. I get what you get from adding me to the mix. Because I’m me. But I already know two spells and can magically transmute lead into gold: I’m not being held back.”

Padar shakes his head, “Come on, Reya, two spells? You initiated on day two and you’re a once in a generation savant. You should have mastered the entire Black Treatise by now and invented an entirely new form of magic. And tell me you don’t want to summon demons. That’s… the entire point of sorcery.”

Reya eyes him darkly, “I’ll study demonology when I’m good and ready.” She pauses, “You make a good point about House Tepet. You should do this. But I… can’t… join someone else’s group. And Gerat sure as shit isn’t a leader. And Evede is the biggest flake in school. You can make this work, but I’d murder them.”

Padar screws up his face, scrutinising her, “Is this about Darknife? I know you were there when she… you know… was murdered by a demon. Do you wanna study somewhere else? I can convince Evede.”

“I told you: I just don’t want to be a part of your group!”

Padar looks puzzled, “If Ro was a sorcerer, I’d say you must be cheating off her… It’s not… Are you worried about leaving Udi?”

“Because your first name is ‘Mnemon’, I’m not going to flip you off as I leave.”

****

Reya makes her way alone (in defiance to the school rules about never being alone during Calibration) back the party. Udi has Ro and Hari by the hair and is dragging them out of the celebration.

“I hope you’ve got a good reason for damaging my property, princess.” Reya reprimands.

Udi immediately lets them both go. “We were just looking for you,” She gives Reya a love-sick smile, “We saw you with Padar and then you disappeared on us.”

Reya tuts and shakes her head, “And you were going to tear the school apart because you were lonely? Did that meanie hurt you, puppy?”

Hari shakes her head as she obediently sticks out her tongue and pants.

“She didn’t hurt me either, mistress.” Ro adds.

“No-one asked you,” Reya says with a sneer, “You love it. In fact, I think we need to start regular maintenance spankings for you to stop this back-chat. More importantly: where are we studying next year?”

“What about the heavens?” Udi suggests, “Study gods, fate, divination. Plenty of useful magic for you, plenty meat for the rest of us to get our grades, maybe we’ll attract the attention of a powerful god who can… you know.” Initiate me into sorcery.

“W-what about wards?” Ro asks timidly.

Udi doesn’t hesitate to drive a fist into her gut. Some older students look over as Ro lets out an “oomph”, but Reya flashes them a comforting smile and no-one intervenes.

“No-one asked you!” Udi scolds.

Ro coughs, “Sorry, daddy. But last year-” She flinches as Udi raises her hand again.

Reya smiles and gently caresses her face, “Last year I did say that as fun as the games the four of us play are, that you’re still a Prince of the Earth with a bright future ahead of her. That your education and your opinions matter. Yes, Calibration is a topsy-turvy time. If you want out, now’s the time; but Udi is quite right, I already told you to shut the fuck up.”

Ro looks down at the ground contritely. Hari hardly dares to breathe.

Udi shrugs, “That’s not a terrible idea though. The Hall of the Cerulean Glyph: learn warding and sanctification. It’s a good foundation for going into geomancy. It’s all but essential before we study demonology.”

Reya wrinkles her nose and gestures dismissively at Ro and Hari, “Harder to pass if you’re not a sorcerer though.”

Udi gives her an ‘as if I care’ look, “With what we learned last year, I’ll be initiating by spring. Babygirl isn’t as retarded as her dumb-fucking mouth suggests. And, honestly, who cares about Puppy?”

Reya turns to Hari, “What do you think, Puppy? Cerulean Glyph? Celestial Puissance? Somewhere else?”

Hari looks at her wide-eyed and uncertain.

“Speak, Puppy!”

Hari clears her throat, uncertainly, “They’re both great choices. The only other place I’d want to be is Verdigris, but we’d probably have to go through the Cerulean Glyph first so…”

“Cerulean Glyph it is,” Reya nods. She winces slightly and sighs, “Anyone on good terms with House Tepet?”

****

The five days of Calibration pass in a blur of feasting and revelry. The professors are famously good sports. The successful sacrifices stumble into play shell-shocked from their year of hell – Reya identifies a few of them hoping to study at the Cerulean Glyph. Students apply to their chosen colleges. Malor and Veris are going to the Hall of Celestial Puissance, but they introduce the girls to one of their classmates, giving them contacts in the year above and the year below.

****

Realm Year 738, 1st Day of Ascending Air
The Hall of the Cerulean Glyph

Reya wears a diplomatically neutral outfit of black. A bandolier of alchemical vials is strung across her chest. Two bracers of highly polished silver are worn on her arms, and in their mirrored surface she catches glimpses of the spirit realm. At her side are Udi, Ro, and Hari, as well as a pair of second years, and her new fourth year acquaintance.

Professor Senex does not meet them outside the library as Professor Duhalva did. Reya doesn’t hesitate to let herself into the tower. Unlike the Hall of the Jade Cauldron, the Hall of the Cerulean Glyph does not open into a communal library. What is immediately familiar is the green velvet ropes warding off doors (Duhalva had unlocked a handful of these last year, but only a scant handful). Reya takes it upon herself to explain to the second years not to cross the ropes. Unlike in the Jade Cauldron, it seems every door to the students is barred on the first floor. Unsurprisingly, many of the doors also bear protective wards and glyphs. Eventually they find the staircase leading up to the next floor, where again they are greeted by row after row of barred door.

“Oh come on!” Udi throws her hands in the air, “Are we supposed to just keep heading up!”

There’s no-one to ask and as they’re unwilling to cross the velvet ropes, so Reya keeps leading them up. Every door is barred to them until they reach the top floor, the entirety of which is a vast collection of books. There’s three other students in the library, talking quietly around a table with Mistress Ledaal Ibelin.

Ibelin looks up from her gaggle of students and beckons Reya and the others over. Her students turn and Reya immediately recognises them: it’s Evede, Gerat, and Padar.

“Ah, our late-comers,” Ibelin smiles at them, not without affection.

“Mistress, it’s dawn,” One of the second years complains.

Ibelin nods, “It may well have been when you started the climb, yes, but it’s not now, is it? To begin your studies at dawn, you must be in class before dawn. Professor Senex is not known to be… permissive in his teaching style, and his response to complaints is decidedly less… congenial than mine.”

“As I was explaining to your more punctual counterparts, there are no forbidden secrets in the art of warding and sanctification. Every room that contains dread secrets which could kill or maim you is sealed with a green velvet rope-”

“That’s every single room in the tower except this one!” Udi grumps folding her arms across her chest.

Ibelin nods again, “Yes, it is. Including, of course, the personal workspaces we’ve set aside for you. Consider this your first assignment. The more important you are, the closer your office is to the base of the tower. This library, for our new students, is at the upmost; Professor Senex is first on the right as you enter. Your first workspaces are on the floor below us: everything you need to find them and safely unlock them is in this library.” She pauses before gesturing at Reya & Udi and Hari & Ro, “We’ve split the four of you into two twos. You’re next to each other. You don’t need to worry about acquiring credits in this class: each season you’ll have the opportunity to move down a floor by mastering wards of a more complex nature. Make it to the second floor and you graduate. There is one… important stipulation,” She turns her attention to the second years, “Any ward you take down, must be put back up. Should you fail this basic duty, you can expect instant expulsion. At best. Now if there are no questions, I have duties to attend to at the Hall of Verdigris.”

One of the second years raises a tentative hand, “What about lectures?”

Ibelin slow blinks, “A full lecture timetable has been posted in your personal workspaces.”

“So if we’re struggling to unlock our workspaces, we can attend lectures on how to unlock our workspaces, which are posted inside our workspaces?”

Ibelin laughs casually, “Not to worry: none of the lectures will help you understand the wards locking your out of your workspaces. If you can’t work out this simple puzzle, you won’t be passing the Cerulean Glyph.”

“But… there’s a thousand books in here! And if we don’t pass this library we can’t study at Verdigris!”

“Correct on both counts,” Ibelin’s tone takes on a perceptible chill and there are no more questions.

****

“You could still study with us,” Padar says, reasonably, “Evede’s got some obscure algorithm for working out which rooms are ours, and Gerat is… flying through these books.”

“I’ll tell you what: if you group of sorcerer’s works it out first, you let me know; if I work it out first, I’ll let you know.”

****

The puzzle of which rooms belong to them, let alone how to break through the mystic wards and how to raise them again, would have driven a mortal savant mad. It takes Udi and Ro a couple of hours to work out which rooms are theirs (slightly longer than Gerat’s group), a couple more hours to work out which books they should study to understand the warding magic, then an hour or so to work out how to work the magic (which Reya shares with Padar as promised).

And so goes the rest of the third year. Initially Reya’s group struggles to stay ahead of Gerat’s, even after Ro initiates into sorcery at the start of Ascending Water. By Descending Water, Hari has initiated into sorcery as well, and staying ahead of Gerat, Padar and Evede is no longer a challenge. Though the workload is heavy, and the hours are long, the girls quickly grasp the magic of the Cerulean Glyph, putting into practise both the brushwork of their fine calligraphy and the mathematical skills taught to them in their first year to underpin their workings.

By the end of the year, they have passed. And all are sorcerers, save Ledaal Ludila.
- 5
- 6
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Lessons of Dynasty Part 2: Interlude Years